


as they fell back down to Earth

by manmehakkaur, May_Seward



Series: Say Hello to the Stars... [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Jason is a cadet at the Garrison, Keith and Percy get emotional, Keith and Shiro are Percy's adopted brothers, Keith and Shiro are Siblings, Keith and Shiro know that Percy and crew are demigods, Male pronouns for Pidge in Lance's POV because Lance doesn't know yet, Post-canon for PJO crew, Say Hello to the Stars, Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace, Takes place during episode 1 of Voltron, road trip goes wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-17 11:49:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13076256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manmehakkaur/pseuds/manmehakkaur, https://archiveofourown.org/users/May_Seward/pseuds/May_Seward
Summary: Follow signs beneath the groundA lost brother will be foundWhen a star falls on desert dryBeyond Olympus thirteen shall fly





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not totally happy with this one but I've rewritten big chunks of it twice and just want to move on to the next installment now. This is also a long one so I cut it in half. The second chapter should be up in the next few days. This is where things really kick off!
> 
> As usual, check out my tumblr ( seethestarsalittlecloser.tumblr.com ) for more multifandom weirdness and feel free to message me or send me asks on there about any of my fics, cool headcanons or just general fangirling.
> 
> Shoutout to Manmehak for helping me get this one off the ground

‘Percy, are you sure this is a good idea?’ Annabeth cocked a golden eyebrow at the small suitcase half-packed on his bed at New Rome University’s Vesta House.

‘Of course,’ Percy shrugged, rummaging through his tiny chest of drawers for a clean pair of shorts. ‘Tell me you don’t want to go visit Jason in Arizona.’

‘Percy...’

‘Come on, Annabeth, why are you so against this?’

Annabeth grabbed his hand and they stood there for a moment as she sighed. ‘I’m not against this, I’m just worried about you.’

Percy’s smile was not quite convincing enough. ‘Why?’

Annabeth looked him dead in the eyes under her cap. ‘Tell me you aren’t going to Arizona to look for your brother.’

Percy’s jaw clenched. ‘I- I’m... not?’

Annabeth dropped his hand. ‘Godsdamnit, Percy! I knew it. Keith has made it pretty clear that he doesn’t want to be found!’

‘After I went missing you tore the country apart looking for me!’ Percy set both suitcases on the floor.

‘That was different!’ Annabeth insisted. Tears pricked in the corner of her eyes at the memory. ‘You didn’t send me letters reassuring me you were okay!’

Percy suddenly didn’t know what to say. ‘Hey...’ he murmured, gathering her in his arms. 

She breathed deeply for a moment and then pulled away just far enough to look him in the eyes. ‘We’re going to Arizona because it's going to be a fun way to start the summer.’ She leaned up and kissed him briefly. ‘And I’m bringing back-up.’

* * *

_ SIMULATION FAILED _

Lance ducked his head as he climbed out of the simulator with a carefully neutral expression. 

That... could have gone better, he admitted to himself. Pidge pushed past him on his way out, scowling. Hunk was last, shoulders slumped in defeat.

‘Well let’s see if we can use this complete failure as a lesson for the rest of you students,’ Iverson barked. Lance was certain the man was enjoying this. ‘Can anyone point out the mistakes these three  _ so called _ cadets made in the simulator?’

‘The engineer puked in the main gearbox,’ one guy pointed out immediately. It sounded like Andy but Lance would not let himself look.  _ Thanks a lot asshole _ .

‘Yes.’ Lance swore Iverson was smiling. ‘As everyone knows, vomit is not an approved lubricant for engine systems.’ Did Iverson just make a joke? Somebody in the class sniggered. ‘What else?’

‘The comms tech removed his safety harness.’ Someone said. 

Lance scoffed.  _ A technicality. _

‘The pilot crashed!’ 

_ It was a hard landing! _

‘Correct,’ Iverson agreed, the commander's harsh voice hitting him like a shot. Lance definitely did  _ not _ flinch. ‘And worst of all, the whole job they’re arguing with each other! Heck, if you’re going to be this bad individually you better be at least able to work as a team! The galaxy Garrison exists to turn young cadets like you into the next generation of elite astroexplorers but these kinds of mental mistakes are exactly what cost the lives of the men on the Kerberos mission!’ 

Beside Lance, Pidge snapped. ‘That’s not true, sir!’

‘What did you say?’

Lance clamped his hand over Pidge’s mouth before he could say something even more stupid and get expelled for insubordination the same way Keith Jackson had.

‘Sir!’ Someone standing at the back of the room pushed to the front. Lance recognised him with surprise. Jason Grace, one of the top pilots in the class. Lance had never seen him stand up to Iverson before. ‘I think some of us here don’t need reminders of that mission.’

‘Is that so?’ Iverson asked, his voice lowered dangerously. ‘Knew the crew did you?’

‘You know I do.’

Iverson glared at Jason for a moment before growling out a ‘Dismissed,’ and waving the class away.

‘Hey!’ Lance called out, running towards the tall retreating back of Jason Grace. ‘Wait!’

Jason paused and turned. ‘What?’

‘You knew Takashi Shirogane?’ Lance blurted before he could think better of it. Mentally, he kicked himself. The guy had just made it clear he didn’t want to talk about it.

To his surprise, Jason shook  his head. ‘I never met Shiro personally, but I know his brothers.’

‘You know Keith Jackson?’ Lance gaped.

‘A little. I was his roommate for a while. I knew their brother first though, Percy.’

‘Does he go to the Garrison too?’ Lance asked, looking around as if another hotshot pilot would appear suddenly out of the wall somewhere.

‘No,’ Jason laughed. ‘You wouldn’t get Percy in an airplane if you paid him, let alone a spacecraft.’

‘He’s scared of flying?’

Jason smirked. ‘Something like that.’

‘Then how did you meet?’ Lance pressed, warming up to this guy.

Jason frowned slightly, thinking. ‘Camp,’ he said slowly, like it wasn’t the whole truth.

‘Space camp?’

‘Boot camp.’

Lance laughed. ‘You went to boot camp?  _ You _ ?’

‘Yep,’ Jason was starting to look uncomfortable. 

Behind Lance, Pidge cleared his throat. ‘Leave the guy alone,’ he snapped, tugging forcefully on Lance’s elbow. ‘Come on.’ As Lance was steered away, he thought he saw Pidge and Jason share an understanding nod.

* * *

Sitting at the wheel of Paul’s new minivan, Percy couldn’t help but think that Annabeth’s idea of backup, though admittedly accurate, was just a tad overkill. Not that he was complaining.

‘I don’t see why we couldn’t take Festus,’ Leo complained as Percy pulled away from Leo’s workshop.

‘I don’t think we’d all fit,’ Hazel noted.

‘And also as a son of Posiedon I tend to get blasted out of the sky if I’m up there for too long,’ Percy added.

‘Yikes.’ Leo twisted in his seat to look over his shoulder. ‘Hey, di Angelo pass me that bag by your feet.’

‘Seriously?’ Annabeth, in the passenger seat in the front with Percy, glanced in the rear-view mirror to see Leo procure a bag of chips from the suspiciously large duffel bag Nico handed over. ‘We haven’t even left New Rome yet.’

‘To be fair, usually when we go on trips like this it's because we received some prophecy of doom and didn’t have time to pack snacks.’ Nico punctuated the statement by resting his feet on the headrest in front of him.

‘Feet down, Nico!’ Percy called. ‘This is my step-dad’s car so it has to get home in perfect condition.’

Nico removed his feet. ‘Good luck with that. Hey, Percy, why does your step-dad even have a minivan?’

‘When Estelle was born, my parents realised that they wouldn’t be able to fit the whole family in one car anymore. That was before...’ Percy cleared his throat and focused on the road in front of him. ‘That was before Shiro died, though.’

Piper, sitting in the back beside Nico, punched him in the shoulder. ‘Dumb question Nico.’

‘Hey!’ Nico protested.

‘Uhhh... Guys?’ Hazel called out. ‘Anyone know what this is? It fell out of one of the bags.’ She held up her hand and waved the scrap of paper in the air so the rest could see it. 

‘What does it say?’ Nico called.

Hazel began to read aloud in a solemn voice:

_ Follow signs beneath the ground _

_ A lost brother will be found _

_ When a star falls on desert dry _

_ Beyond Olympus thirteen shall fly _

Percy pulled over.

‘“A lost brother...”’ Nico echoed. ‘This is about Keith, isn’t it?’

Percy twisted in his seat. ‘It... was, yeah,’ he admitted. ‘But, as Annabeth pointed out, Keith doesn’t want to be found.’

Annabeth glared at him. ‘Percy, you promised me that you were going to drop this finding Keith idea.’

Percy raised his hands in surrender. ‘I did! I promise, I obviously just forgot to get rid of Rachel’s message that’s all.’

‘I don’t like the sound of this,’ Hazel said, reading over the paper again. ‘Prophecies never end the way you expect.’

‘You think I don’t know that?’ Percy snapped, and then sighed. ‘Sorry, you’re right. We’re not going there because of the prophecy. We’re going to see Jason and bring him home for the holidays.’

‘Yeah, guys you all need to chill,’ Leo crunched on a handful of corn chips, orange powder coating his fingers. ‘It’ll be fine, we’ll get Jason and head back. What’s the big deal?’

‘Thank you, Leo,’ Percy replied. ‘Are we all okay now?’

‘If you’re sure you know what you’re doing,’ Frank agreed.

Piper scoffed. ‘You know I’d be coming anyway.’

‘We’re good,’ Nico leaned back in his seat.

Percy waited. ‘Hazel?’

Hazel looked at him, eyes thoughtful. ‘If you wanted help saving your brother, why didn’t you just ask?’

‘I just wanted to find him,’ Percy murmured. ‘I just wanted to  _ see _ him.’

‘You will,’ Annabeth said softly, resting her hand on his forearm. ‘When he’s ready.’

Percy nodded. ‘I know.’

* * *

‘We shouldn’t be doing this.’ Hunk was not a fan of this plan. No way. This was insanely stupid and yet-

‘You heard Commander Iverson,’ Lance insisted. ‘We need to bond as a team. We’re gonna grab Pidge, hit the town, loosen up, meet some nice girls...’

The lights shut off. Curfew. ‘I-I’m just- I’m just saying this here, now, on the record, this is a bad idea.’

Yeah, okay, that was never going to work. When Lance decided to do something, there was no talking him out of it. They’d been roommates for months now. Hunk knew when he’d lost. Like now, when Lance ducked out from their cover and headed around the corner, sneaking down corridors without even a glance over his shoulder.

‘You know,’ Lance said far too loud for Hunk’s liking ( _ they were going to get caught! And expelled! And banished to the desert like that Jackson kid! Hunk wouldn’t survive in the desert! He likes his kitchen space sand-free thank you very much _ ) ‘For someone in a space exploration program, you don’t have much of a sense of adventure.’

‘Not when your little “adventures” end up with me in the principal's office,’ Hunk protested, trying to keep his voice down.

One day. They had one more day before the year ended and they could head home for the summer. This was such a monumentally bad idea. Lance crouched below the window of the instructors lounge in an attempt to get past undetected. _Oh man_ , they were going to get into  _ so _ much trouble _. _

* * *

The desert at sunset was a surprise. For somewhere that was essentially a giant bowl of dust and sand, the way the setting sun painted the Arizona landscape in all manner of bright pinks, purples and oranges was not what Percy had been expecting. 

Annabeth, nose buried in a map book, muttered, ‘Turn left,’ quietly enough that Leo, Nico and Frank sitting in the back wouldn’t be woken by her whispered instructions. Piper was listening to music on an old walkman (they had realised a few months ago that since it was essentially a portable CD player that it wouldn’t attract any monsters) with Nico slumped on her shoulder. Hazel stared out the window with the camera Nico had given her for Christmas sitting on her lap, her expression open and awed.

Percy pulled into the carpark of a tiny empty motel right on the very edge of town. It was the closest place they could stay without camping on Garrison or government property, which, Annabeth had assured him, would be a very bad idea. With a smile, he cut the engine. ‘Hey, guys,’ he announced. ‘We’re here.’

Nico sat bolt upright. ‘What?’

‘Relax, kid, we’re here,’ Percy repeated, getting out of the car. Frank blinked sleepily and reached out to pull the sliding door open.

‘Hey!’ Piper shook Leo’s shoulder. ‘Wake up, man!’

Leo’s hair sparked as his eyes snapped open and Piper jumped back out of singeing range. ‘Dude,’ Leo complained, rubbing his face. ‘Uncalled for.’

‘I’m going to check us in,’ Annabeth informed them, picking up her things and heading towards the main building. Everyone piled out after her, stumbling as they got used to standing again. By the time everyone and their belongings had gotten out of the car, Annabeth was back with two motel room keys in her hand. ‘Come on,’ she called, already unlocking the first door. ‘Hazel, Piper and I can take this one. You four can take the other one.’

‘I’m not sharing with these guys,’ Nico protested. ‘Why couldn’t we have gotten three rooms?’

‘Nico you have literally slept in Hell,’ Percy said, opening the door and walking inside. ‘We’re on a budget, man. Be sensible.’

‘ _ Said Percy Jackson _ ,’ Nico muttered, but followed him in anyway. Percy dumped his stuff on one bed, effectively claiming it as his, and turned to the others. ‘I’m getting food. Who’s coming with me?’

‘I’ll go!’ Nico volunteered almost too eagerly. ‘I could use the walk. I’ve been stuffed in that minivan for six hours!’

Leo produced a packet of Cheez-it's. ‘I’m good, man,’ he said, kicking back on the unclaimed bed with one arm behind his head.

‘I’ll get us settled in,’ Frank suggested.

‘Great,’ Percy grinned, poking his head into the girls room. ‘Hey, Nico and I are getting food, who wants in?’

‘I better come,’ Annabeth decided. ‘Somebody’s got to make sure you don’t blow the food budget on candy or get yourselves killed by monsters.’

Percy placed his hand over his heart and pouted. ‘Your lack of faith in me hurts, wise girl.’

‘Awww you know I love you.’

Percy could feel the dopey grin on his face and he honestly didn’t care. Nico pretended to gag. Five minutes later, the three of them were walking down the little town’s main street, a list of dinner orders clutched in Annabeth’s hand.

* * *

_ ‘Shhhh! Lance, we’re going to get caught!’ _

_ ‘No we’re not! Come on, we gotta find out where Pidge is going.’ _

_ ‘This is so not going to end well.’ _

With a sigh, Jason opened his door. ‘Hey guys, if you’re trying to sneak out, maybe stop talking.’

Hunk, the intestinally challenged engineer, went pale. ‘ I told you! ’

Lance, the hotheaded pilot from yesterday with all the questions, morphed his face into a confident smile. ‘Don’t worry, Hunk. That’s just my buddy Jason. Hey buddy, how’s it going?’

Jason stared at him. ‘Staying here is probably also going to get you caught.’

Lance’s smile turned awkward. ‘Well you see the thing is we were just following our comms tech, Pidge. He looks like he’s up to something _ really _ shady.’

Jason frowned. ‘Pidge is sneaking out?’ 

‘Yeah,’ said Lance, relaxing slightly. ‘You know him?’

Percy had told Jason about the Holt family after the funeral when Jason asked after the two women Percy had gone to talk to. When a Pidge Gunderson had turned up in his class on day one, it hadn’t taken much to put two and two together. It wasn’t his secret to tell however, so he had kept his mouth shut about it. If Pidge was up to something though... It might have something to do with Percy’s brother.

‘Something like that,’ Jason admitted. This guy asked too many questions. ‘I’m coming with you.’

* * *

‘I know we disagreed about this,’ Annabeth said to Percy quietly. ‘But I’m glad we came.’

Percy breathed in the desert night air and smiled. ‘Me too.’ It was good to feel normal for a while. In his pocket, next to riptide, his hand brushed the scrap of paper Rachel had given him. 

_ Follow signs beneath the ground _

_ A lost brother will be found... _

For most of the drive over, he had forgotten his nagging worry for Keith, drowned out by Nico, Leo and Piper singing along to the CD in the player or Hazel asking to stop so she could take pictures with her new camera or Annabeth taking his hand where it rested on the gearshift and smiling at him. He had felt like a normal kid for the first time in a long time. No monsters, no gods, no missing brothers. No dead brothers, even.

Percy clenched his fist around Riptide feeling the shape of it dig into his palm.

‘Percy?’ Annabeth asked, squeezing his other hand. ‘Are you okay?’

Percy managed a smile. ‘Yeah, I’m good. I just... miss them.’

Together they turned off the street towards a McDonalds, the only place in town that did takeout, according to Jason. It was fully dark by now, with stars lighting up the sky where the town gave way to desert.

‘Hey!’ Annabeth had already gone in when Nico grabbed Percy’s arm and pointed at the sky back in the direction they’d come, white-faced. ‘Look!’

Above them, a ball of fire streaked through the night, a falling star that landed with an explosion Percy could hear, if not see.

_...When a star falls on desert dry _

_ Beyond Olympus thirteen shall fly _

‘Nico, can you get me over there?’ Percy demanded once his brain started working again.  _ The prophecy was coming true _ !

‘You sure?’

Annabeth burst back through the restaurant doors. ‘Percy I know what you’re thinking, but just wait!’

‘You saw the falling star!’ Percy protested. ‘How can I?’

‘Because Keith made it abundantly clear that this isn’t what he wants!’

‘I don’t care!’ Percy snapped. ‘I don’t care! He shouldn’t have left us like that!’

‘Nico, you know I’m right, don’t you?' Annabeth tried. 'When Bianca died-’

‘I’m going to help Percy go and find Keith,’ Nico declared. Both Percy and Annabeth gaped at him, but Nico squared his shoulders, steadfast in his decision. ‘It’s what I would have wanted when I was in Keith’s position.’

Slowly, Annabeth nodded. ‘Go then.’

Without waiting another second, Percy grabbed Nico’s sleeve and they were enveloped in darkness. 

* * *

Pidge knew she was in trouble when Jason Grace appeared on the rooftop where she was scanning for extraterrestrial signals. She recognised him from the funeral, hanging back like an honour guard, then later talking to one of the Jackson brothers. He had never said anything, but with the way he had stepped in yesterday, she knew he knew who she really was.

And yet, he had never ratted her out. She had been trying to muster up the courage to talk to him all day, but hadn’t been able to work up the nerve. Him possibly knowing was one thing, outing herself to him was another one entirely. 

‘Look, Pidge,’ Lance placed his hands on his hips. ‘If we’re going to bond as a team we can’t have any more secrets.’

So Pidge told them. About the alien radio chatter, about the Kerberos mission, about Voltron.

‘What’s Voltron?’ Jason asked, hand on Hunk’s shoulder to stop him from touching her equipment. Out of the three boys, he had taken the news of alien life the best, without question.

‘I don’t know,’ she sighed. ‘But it's gotta be something important for them to keep talking about it. Tonight, it’s going crazier than I have ever heard it. Something is about to happen, I know it is.’

An alarm split the air. 

_ ‘Attention students. This is not a drill. We are on lockdown. Security situation zulu niner. Repeat. All students are to remain in barracks until further notice.’ _

‘What’s going on?’ Hunk pointed at the sky. ‘Is that a meteor?’

Jason gaped. ‘By the gods...’

‘A very... big... meteor?’ Hunk tried.

Pidge picked up her binoculars.

‘It’s a ship,’ Jason breathed, awestruck.

‘How do you know?’ Pidge demanded, taking a look for herself. 

Jason didn’t take his eyes off the thing. ‘I just do.’

‘That is definitely not one of ours,’ Lance announced. 

Pidge’s heart started to race. ‘No. It’s one of theirs.’

‘Dad is  _ not _ going to be happy about this,’ Jason murmured. The ship hit the ground with enough of an impact to shake the roof where they sat.

Pidge grinned and immediately packed up her scanners. ‘We gotta see that ship.’

‘Oh, no, you guys have to stay out of this,’ Jason’s voice was hard, like a general giving orders. Pidge bristled. 

‘Look, man, you-’

‘Pidge, just trust me okay?’ he said, and without another word, he jumped off the roof.

Lance looked at Pidge, face washed pale by moonlight. ‘Did he just-’

‘Yep.’

* * *

When Keith had disappeared, he hadn’t intended to spend his time in the desert learning how to make explosives, but there he was. As soon as he had seen the streak of fire in the sky, he knew his interpretation of those strange markings, whatever they were, was right. The only remaining question was how he was going to get close enough to get a look before the Garrison locked it up somewhere.

Keith might have been expelled, but it wasn’t because he couldn’t remember Garrison procedure. He couldn’t hear the lockdown alarm from this distance, but he knew that any extraterrestrial object landing on earth was considered both dangerous and valuable. If Keith was right, then by the time whatever it was made impact, the whole facility would be on lockdown. 

Instead of heading right for it, Keith bolted out the front door of the shack he had settled in. It had belonged to his dad once (his biological father, not Sally’s husband Paul) who had used it as a workshop for... something Keith had never really figured out. Keith had outfitted it into a makeshift home while he searched for... something. He had never really figured that out either.

Tonight, though, he might just find what he was looking for.

Keith skidded through the dust in his haste to get around to the awning out back that he used as a storage room. Underneath a tarpaulin, was a motorbike that had been gathering dust probably since his dad had disappeared nearly sixteen years ago. Over the past few months, Keith had used the manuals he’d found propping up a desk in one corner and anything he had managed to pick up from his time as a Garrison cadet to restore it. He hauled it out into the night, then dove back in to retrieve the fuel cans he had been stockpiling since he got here, stuffing the matches he’d stolen on his last supply run into his pocket.

Keith wasted no time, kicking the motorbike into gear as soon as the cans were all strapped safely onto the back and pointed his wheels in the direction of the valley. The engine roared, and for the first time in months, Keith grinned, enjoying the harsh wind against his face, pricking his skin and making his blood sing. Shiro had owned a motorbike before Sally made him get rid of it when he went away to space. Keith remembered when Shiro had bought it, third hand and falling apart. Shiro had spent months working on that thing until it had gleamed and and ran better than brand new. Over the last few months, Keith had started to wonder if Shiro had picked up the habit from their father. 

As the landscape rose up around him, Keith skidded to a stop and dismounted so fast he nearly fell over. He dumped the fuel cans in piles for a few meters, trailing gasoline between them, and lit a match, throwing it onto the gas trail. Keith jumped back onto the bike, gunning it for the crash site.

‘Three... two... one...’

One by one, the piles of canisters exploded and Keith urged the bike to move faster. In the distance, he glimpsed the first of the Garrison’s offroaders peel off to investigate the explosion, moths to a flame. 

By the time Keith arrived at the crash site, it was almost totally unguarded. Keith snuck into the prefab they had erected around the it through a back entrance and opened the nearest door. 

He barely had time to glance at the table and the body lying on it before he was swarmed by techs in hazmat suits. Keith took them down with very little difficulty; he had been top of his class at the Garrison and the tech division received only minimal combat training. Keith ducked one swing and landed two more, whacking his final opponent in the head hard enough that they were thrown into the table and hit the floor with a final resounding thud.

‘Keith!’ a familiar voice gasped and Keith bit back a curse as he spun to face the newcomer. ‘By the gods, I was so worried about you!’ His brother Percy stood in the doorway, pure relief written on his face. 

Keith wanted to snap at him, but he couldn’t help mirroring Percy’s relief. It was surprisingly good to see a familar face. ‘Hey, Nico.’

Nico, who had appeared behind Percy raised an approving eyebrow at the techs littering the floor. ‘Hi, Keith. Long time.’

‘I know I said I wouldn’t look for you, but gods, it’s good to see you. I-’ Percy choked on his words as his gaze fell on the table behind Keith. ‘Shiro?’

Keith followed Percy’s gaze and froze. 

His dead brother was lying on the table. 

A black bodysuit under a scrap of cloth covered him from chin to toe. The face under a shock of white hair was scarred, but Percy was right. It was definitely Shiro.

With shaking hands, Keith took out a knife and cut his brother free, hauling him upright and propping him up under his shoulder. ‘Percy, help me.’

Percy choked. ‘His _arm_ , Keith.’

‘ _ Shiro _ , Percy!’

Blinking through the shock, Percy unfroze and ducked under Shiro’s other arm. Together they managed to keep Shiro - out cold but impossibly alive - upright and steady enough that they could get out before the Garrison came back or the med techs woke up.

‘Jason!’ Nico called and Keith and Percy both jumped as a blond kid poked his head in. 

‘Hey guys,’ said Jason. ‘You’ve got incoming. Is Shiro okay?’

‘He’ll be fine,’ Keith muttered, the surreality of the situation warring with his need to  _ get out now _ !

‘Nope! No, no you- no no no no no you don’t. I’m saving Shiro,’ said and unfamiliar voice as Keith and Percy took their first step towards the door. Someone breezed past Nico and Jason, shoulders set, confident in his mission. He was tall and wiry and immediately tried moving to intercept, reaching out as if to take Shiro from them.

‘Move, kid, we got this,’ Percy said, trying to shoulder past him.

‘Lance, dude, stand down,’ Jason stepped out of the way, allowing Keith and Percy to move through the door without getting stuck. ‘These are my friends,  _ Percy _ and  _ Keith. _ ’ 

The weird stresses on their names seemed to mean something to Lance, who stood back out of the way with his hands up, though he definitely didn't look happy. ‘My bad dude.’

‘You’ve got about two minutes, Percy!’ Nico called. 

‘Hey, uh, shouldn’t we, you know, get out of here?’ Another new kid asked. Keith vaguely remembered him from his class at the Garrison. ‘Like,  _ now _ ?’

‘Big guy’s right,’ Percy said, clear headed once more. ‘We need to get out of here.’

‘Uhhh, do you mind if we catch a ride with you guys?’ asked Big Man, heading for the motorbike. Keith cursed. They were never going to all get out of there on that thing.

Nico stepped forward immediately. ‘I can take some of you,’ he said and something about Nico having some sort of teleportation ability resurfaced in Keith’s mind.

‘Fine,’ Keith said, ducking out from under Shiro’s arm. Lance immediately took up the slack. ‘There’s a shack a few miles west of here. It’s where I’ve been staying for a while. I’ll lose these guys and meet you there?’

Nico was already reaching for Percy, the one closest to him. ‘Got it.’

Percy met Keith’s gaze as Keith mounted the motorbike. ‘I’ll see you soon,’ Keith promised. Percy nodded once and he, Shiro, Nico and Lance melted into shadows and disappeared. Keith grinned. Lance was going to have a heart attack when he realised what had happened.

‘I’m leaving!’ Keith announced. 

‘Wait!’ the smallest and surprisingly the most familiar of the newcomers - and once Keith actually looked at him he realised why - leaped onto the bike behind him, wrapping her arms around Keith’s waist. ‘Hunk, come on!’

Jason shook his head. ‘I’ll get Hunk back safe, I promise,’ he said. ‘Go!’

‘But-’ Katie Holt protested, but Keith had already gunned the engine, screaming off into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Area Teen's Day Starts Out Great, Ends Badly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter two! I'm going back to the oneshot format after this but this plot kinda needed to be a double episode.

Consciousness returned slowly at first, then abruptly all at once. Shiro remembered the crash, the fear that had driven him there, and he remembered being drugged, but then... nothing. He bolted upright before he was fully awake, lashing out before he had the time to even open his eyes. 

‘Shiro! Calm down, you’re okay!’ Shiro blinked and nearly crumpled. Percy’s hand was on his prosthetic arm, holding it a safe distance away from his face. ‘You’re safe,’ he said and before Shiro could think, he was pulled into the tightest hug Percy had ever given him. 

‘Aliens!’ he blurted as soon as he could make his mouth work.

Percy laughed and pulled away. ‘What?’

‘Before,’ said another voice and Shiro realised they weren’t alone. ‘You said aliens were coming. That they were looking for a weapon. Voltron.’ For a moment, Shiro thought he was looking at Matt, the engineer on the Persephone, but then he blinked and the feeling was gone.

‘I...’ Shiro shook his head in an attempt to clear it but his memories remained fuzzy and indistinct. ‘I don’t remember...’

‘Guys.’ Shiro looked up and saw Keith stepping out from the corner. ‘Lets just give Shiro some space, alright?’

‘Keith!’ Shiro stood up and met him in the middle of the tiny room, pulling him into a quick embrace.

‘Uh... I hate to distract from the reunion and also the whole, you know, aliens coming to kill us problem for just a sec,’ someone else piped up.  ‘But is nobody going to talk about how this dude can straight up fly?’ A kid Shiro didn't recognise was pointing to a blond kid around Percy and Keith's age, standing by the door.

Shiro raised his eyebrow at Keith as they stepped away from each other. ‘Who?’

‘One of Percy’s friends,’ Keith muttered.

‘Figures.’

Keith reached behind him and picked something off the desk. ‘I thought you might like a change of clothes,’ he said, handing Shiro the pile. Shiro looked down at what he was wearing and decided Keith was definitely right. 

‘Thank you,’ Shiro took the clothes. ‘I’ll get changed and leave you two to the explaining.’

‘You’ll be okay on your own?’

Shiro nodded. ‘Yeah. I’ll be fine.’

The small gathering parted, clearing Shrio a path towards the door. He stepped through and breathed in the fresh earth air. It might have been the shock setting in, but the sunrise just peeking over the horizon was almost dreamlike. Shiro didn’t remember much about the time between landing on Kerberos and crashing back on Earth but the fragments of memory he had made him think he had been gone for a long time. The way Percy had looked at him, like he’d seen a ghost... Something unpleasant twisted in his gut at the whole situation. His arm ached faintly as he stripped out of the prison clothes and put on fresh ones. Phantom pains for an injury he couldn’t remember.

A _ flash of memory; sitting against a wall in a cell he had to himself, watching his new hand flex into a fist and release again like it was something  _ other _ , something alien. Another flash. The roar of something huge, the incomprehensible scream of thousands of people cheering. A strange purple glow- _

A bird of prey launched itself into the air in the distance, it's cry echoing through the valley. It was enough to bring him back to the present. Taking a deep breath, Shiro just stood and stared out at the horizon, reacquainting himself with  _ home _ .

Some time later, Keith came to find him. He placed a hand on Shiro’s arm and Shiro felt something like comfort settle over him. Even on the trip to Kerberos, buoyed by a sense of purpose and optimism, he had missed this. Keith, Percy, Estelle, Sally and Paul; his family. Seeing him again felt like a miracle.

‘It’s good to have you back.’

‘It’s good to be back.’

A tiny smile graced Keith’s face and Shiro had to ask. ‘How did they take it in there? Aliens are one thing, but gods?’

‘Not well, but they’ll come around.’ Keith shrugged. ‘Probably.’ The smile faded. ‘So what happened out there? Where were you?’

Shiro sifted gingerly through what memories he could piece together. ‘I wish I could tell you. My head is still pretty scrambled. I was on an alien ship, somehow I escaped. It’s all a blur... How did you know to come save me when I crashed?’

‘You should come see this.’

A familiar car pulled up near where Keith’s motorbike was parked as they turned to head inside. ‘Keith! Shiro!’ called Annabeth, leaping out of the driver’s side. She rushed at them and pulled them both into a hug. ‘Nico told us what happened.’ She stepped away. ‘Where’s Percy? Is he okay?’

‘He’s inside.’ Shiro squeezed her back and let her go. 

‘Us?’ Keith crossed his arms.

Annabeth looked over her shoulder where more kids were piling out. ‘We were actually here to pick up Jason and take him back to California for the summer and decided to make a road trip of it so we brought some friends along for the trip.’ 

‘Friends,’ Keith echoed.

‘You met some of them at the... uh... the memorial,’ Annabeth faltered, looking between Keith and Shiro.

Shiro was seized by a moment of panic. ‘Memorial? Who died?’

Keith coughed. ‘You did. You and your crew were declared dead six months ago.’ 

‘I’ve been gone for a year?’

‘You’ve been gone fifteen months, actually,’ Annabeth said. ‘They just didn’t tell us you were dead until six months ago.’

Keith read Shiro’s expression. ‘I know, it didn’t seem right to me either.’

Shiro thought about it. ‘Maybe they know more about what happened than we think?’

‘Maybe,’ Keith agreed. ‘Either way, I need to show you all something. I think I might know where start looking for Voltron.’

* * *

Percy was sitting on the tiny bed Shiro had vacated next to Jason when the rest of his friends arrived. 

‘Percy!’ Annabeth rushed to him, gathering into a brief hug. ‘You okay?’ she whispered. 

Percy grinned at her. ‘I've got both of my brothers back, I’m more than okay.’ Annabeth smiled and moved to sit next to him. The three Garrison kids, who had introduced themselves as Lance, Pidge and Hunk stood rather awkwardly near the opposite wall. 

‘Hey, who are these guys?’ Lance demanded, eyeing them all with suspicion.

‘Oh, right,’ said Percy, standing too as everyone filed in, Keith and Shiro bringing up the rear. ‘These are my friends, Frank, Hazel, Piper, Nico, who you’ve already met, and my girlfriend Annabeth.’

‘Hello,’ said Piper. 

Lance’s face transformed into a smile. ‘ _ Hello _ .’ Piper frowned at him.

Hunk chewed on his bottom lip. ‘And are these guys all... you know... demigods too?’

Annabeth sent Percy a questioning look.

Jason answered while Percy was distracted. 'Yes.'

‘Okay, so if the gods are real, does that include the monsters too?’ Pidge, who Percy now recognised as Katie Holt, asked. ‘How does that fit in with the wider universe? Can Zeus, for example, control the weather on other planets? Who has domain over the vacuum of space? Do you think the Gods know that other planets and extraterrestrial life exists?’

‘Yes, the monsters exist too,’ Jason replied. ‘So do the titans, giants and centaurs.’

‘What about mermaids?’ Lance asked. ‘Do mermaids exist?’

Percy tried not to laugh at his eagerness. ‘Yeah, sure, my dad’s palace is full of them.’

‘ _ Yesss! _ ’ Lance punched his fist in the air in victory. ‘I’m so gonna meet me some mermaids.’

‘Not that you’ll ever find them,’ Percy added. ‘They are very good at avoiding humans.’

Lance’s face fell. ‘Aww man.’

Annabeth frowned, thinking. ‘In answer to you last question, uh-’

‘Pidge-’ Percy said.

‘-Pidge, I think the Fates must know about aliens. Whether they ever told the gods, though, I don’t know.’

‘What makes you say that?’ asked Jason, expression serious.

‘The prophecy,’ Annabeth replied. ‘“ _ Beyond Olympus thirteen shall fly _ ”... in the context of what we now know, that sounds like a space mission to me.’

Hunk blanched. ‘I’m sorry, what?’

‘One of the reasons we came here,’ said Hazel, pulling a scrap of paper out of her pocket. ‘Was because of this prophecy we were given by a friend.’ She handed the paper to Pidge, who scanned it and passed it on to Hunk.

‘What does this even mean?’ Lance asked, reading over Hunk’s shoulder.

‘Let me see that,’ Keith insisted, snatching out of Hunk’s hand. ‘“A lost brother will be found” - you knew Shiro was coming back?’ he looked at Percy.

‘Actually, I thought it meant you,’ Percy replied.

‘But I wasn’t really lost!’ Keith protested.

‘Enough!’ Shiro ordered. Keith slammed his mouth shut. ‘We have other problems right now. We still have aliens on their way and we still need to find Voltron. With this prophecy in play too, we have to act under the assumption that they are all connected somehow.’

‘Hang on a minute,’ Keith gasped, crossing the room in two quick strides. Shiro followed him. ‘That first line...’ He reached up to pull down a sheet that hung over one wall.

‘What have you been working on?’ Shiro asked, tone suspicious. Beneath the sheet was a huge pinboard covered in pictures, notes and maps with red string tying various pieces of evidence together, though Percy couldn't see what those connections were or why they were important.

‘I can’t explain it really,’ Keith said. ‘After being booted from the Garrison, I was kind of drawn out to this place. It’s like something... Some energy was telling me to search.’

Shiro studied him. ‘For what?’

‘I didn’t really know at the time until I stumbled across this area.' Keith pointed to the map. 'It’s an outcropping of giant rocks with caves covered in these ancient markings.’

‘“Follow signs beneath the ground,”’ Frank recited, drawing the connection.

‘Maybe,’ Keith allowed. ‘Each tells a slightly different story about a blue lion but they all share clues leading to some event, some arrival happening last night.’ He looked at Shiro. ‘Then you showed up.’

Annabeth rose and went to stand next to Keith, studying the notes and photos Keith had gathered over the last few months. ‘Like a prophecy.’

‘Yeah, exactly like that.’ Keith agreed.

Jason moved to join them. ‘Is it possible these prophecies are connected?’ he asked. ‘Could they both be leading us to this Voltron?’

Keith stepped back and frowned. ‘But the lion carvings are in heaps of different caves. How will we know which one holds this Voltron?’

Hunk plucked Pidge’s backpack from the floor and started rummaging through it. ‘Well last night I was going through Pidge’s stuff and I found this picture.’ He held it up and grinned. ‘Look, it’s his girlfriend.’

‘Hey! Gimme that!’ Pidge snatched it and the bag from his hands. ‘What were you doing going through my stuff?’

‘I uh I was looking for a candy bar. But  _ then _ I started reading his diary-’

‘- _ What? _ ’

‘- And I noticed that the repeating series of numbers the aliens were searching for looked a lot like a fraunhofer line.’

‘A what?’ Piper deadpanned.

‘It’s a number describing the emissions spectrum of an element,’ Hunk explained, his words coming faster as he warmed to his audience. ‘Only this element doesn’t exist on Earth. I thought it might be this Voltron and I think I can build a machine to look for it, kinda like a Voltron geiger counter.’

‘Oh!’ Leo leaped up. ‘I can help you out there, friend. Building machines is a Leo Valdez specialty.’

‘Great,’ said Hunk, though he eyed Leo warily. ‘Uh, we’ll probably be able to get most of the parts from Pidge’s equipment but we’re going to have to scrounge some of the tools-’

‘Not to worry, big man, I have everything we could possibly need.’ Leo disappeared out of the door and returned a minute later wearing a tool belt.

‘You brought that on vacation?’ Piper asked, hands on hips and eyebrows raised.

Leo shrugged. ‘I just wanted to have something to do with my hands on the way. Lets get started!’ 

Leo, Hunk and Pidge congregated in a corner, spilling Pidge’s equipment onto the floor as Leo produced screwdrivers, wrenches and other tools from his belt with increasing impossibility.

‘Uhhh... what is happening?’ Lance asked the room in general.

Jason shook his head. ‘Don’t worry about it. Leo’s a son of Hephaestus, this is normal for him.’

‘Ooookay, I’m going to pretend I know who that is,’ said Lance, sitting down on the tiny bed next to Percy. ‘What do we do when we find this thing?’

Annabeth turned away from the board. ‘Good question. That would depend on what it is, I think. If Shiro is right, we might have to defend against an alien horde some time soon so this Voltron could be useful. Otherwise, destroying it could be a good option. Then maybe we could avoid a fight altogether.’

‘That is, if we  _ can _ destroy it,’ Hazel added.

‘Granted. But without knowing what it is, and with it being potentially alien in origin it’s difficult to predict what we should do with it once we have it.’

Percy had a sinking feeling in his gut. He had found his brothers, but he could almost see the three Fates laughing over their knitting at him. He had gotten what he wanted, but had he just dragged his friends into yet another dangerous situation?

‘Okay,’ Leo announced. ‘We can do this. Just give us twenty minutes.’

_ Great. _

* * *

Pidge scuffed the toe of her shoe through the dust as she walked, fighting to keep her hopes reasonable. A few feet ahead, some of Percy and Jason’s friends whispered to each other as they walked, heads close and adorned with soft smiles. Jason’s arm was around Piper. Frank and Hazel were holding hands. Percy and Annabeth walked beside Keith with their fingers linked. Even aside from the obvious couples, there was a sense of camaraderie that tied them all together. It was something Pidge couldn’t relate to. She didn’t make friends easily. Her best friend had been her brother, but he had been gone for so long she could barely remember what that felt like. Now all she had left of him was the man walking beside her, almost as if he had been brought back from the dead.

‘So...’ she began with a quick glance at Shiro, trying to sound casual. ‘Did any of your crew make it out?’

Shiro sighed, like he knew this question was coming. ‘I’m not sure. I remember the mission and being captured. After that it's... bits and pieces.’

Hunk appeared on Pidge’s other side. ‘Yeah, sorry to interrupt but since no one else seems to be asking this question since they’re all hung up on this whole gods thing I feel like we should get back to the aliens? Where are they now? Are they still coming? Are they coming for all of us? Where are they at this very moment?’ Hunk’s eyes kept shifting like he was scanning the landscape for potential hidey holes in case of an alien invasion. He was hunkered down as if trying to make himself look smaller.

Shiro shook his head. ‘I can’t put it together. I remember the word Voltron. It's some kind of weapon they’re looking for but I don’t know why. Whatever it is, we need to find it before they do.’

‘We will,’ said Lance from Keith’s other side. ‘Besides, we’ve got the gods on our side now. Any aliens will have to face my man Percy’s divine wrath!’

Shiro glanced at Percy, his brows knitting together. ‘I... don’t know about that. You might not be able to tell but Percy’s been through a lot. I don’t think it’s fair for him to be dragged into yet another fight.’

Pidge studied Percy’s profile from a distance. ‘What do you mean?’

‘It’s not really my place to tell you the full story, but Percy was in his first swordfight at age twelve. I remember him talking about it. Ares, the god of war, nearly killed him.’

Lance whistled lowly. ‘I had no idea. Damn.’

From a few feet in front of them, Nico called over his shoulder. ‘Hey, Keith? How much further to the lion caves?’

‘Not far!’ Keith jogged to catch up to the others. ‘You should be able to see them right... now.’

Ahead of them, the landscape sloped downward into a canyon dotted with rocky pillars and cave systems. Hunk studied their “Voltron geiger counter” and pointed. ‘I think we should go this way.’

‘I’m getting a reading,’ Hunk reported, pulling Pidge, who had taken the sensor from Leo so he could rummage through his Toolbelt of Infinite Things, in the direction of one of the caves. As a single group, they descended into the canyon. Pidge joined Leo and Hunk in leading the way, rattling off readings as they went.

The cave mouth, down another, slightly steeper slope was deceptively large. Pidge and hunk ducked through first, followed by Nico, who pushed ahead and the others. It was pleasantly cool inside, and Pidge felt her jaw drop as her eyes adjusted to the lower light.

Every inch of the cave, floor, walls and ceiling, was covered in carvings. 

‘Woah,’ said Hunk. 

‘Yeah,’ Pidge agreed in a quiet voice.

‘These are the lion carvings I was telling you about,’ Keith said, his voice echoing through the air. ‘They’re everywhere around here.’

Out of the corner of her eye, Pidge saw Hazel walk up to the wall and place her hands on it. She closed her eyes and studied it with her fingers. ‘Guys,’ she said. ‘I think there is a chamber or something below us.’

‘How can you tell?’ Lance walked up to the nearest wall carving and cocked his head at it. The one he had chosen was worn, covered in dust and he brushed his fingers against it as if trying to trace the lines. 

‘Lance, don’t-’ Hazel warned.

The entire cave lit up, as if someone had flicked a switch, the carvings glowing an almost neon shade of blue. ‘Woah!’ Lance staggered back, nearly slamming into Frank, who startled. 

‘They’ve never done that before,’ Keith remarked. Pidge followed his eyes, taking in the sight.

‘Guys, move!’ Hazel screamed, darting suddenly back towards the entrance. Too late did Pidge register the floor beneath her feet rumble and give way, sending her plummeting downwards.

Somewhere to her left, Annabeth was screaming, high and loud, clashing with the cries and shouts of surprise of the others. Pidge landed heavily on Hunk’s shoulders, pulled to him by the scanner cord, which promptly flew from her hands and disappeared into the dark. She clung on to Hunk’s face and screamed as they hurtled down a chute slick with water and landed with a heavy thud and a splash.

‘We’re okay, we’re okay, we’re safe,’ Percy whispered lowly. He and Annabeth were clutching each other’s shoulders, breathing quickly, both pale-faced and shaken. He kissed her forehead. ‘Look, we’re fine.’

‘Is everyone okay?’ Shiro asked, sitting up with a muffled groan. 

‘Hazel!’ Frank called out and Pidge, along with everyone else started frantically looking around to make sure everyone was safe and accounted for. 

‘We’re coming!’ Hazel called from above them and moments later, she, Jason and Piper landed in the pool of water they had found themselves in.

‘By the gods,’ said said Hazel, picking herself back up. ‘Look!’

Pidge turned around and gasped. A giant blue and silver lion stood surrounded by a dome of energy. ‘Is this it?’ Pidge asked, hoping at least Shiro would know. ‘Is this the voltron?’

‘It... must be.’ Shiro sounded just as in awe as Pidge felt.

Keith took a step towards the thing. ‘This is what has been causing all this crazy energy out here.’

‘I can feel it now!’ Leo exclaimed, rushing headfirst towards the energy dome. ‘It’s an automaton of some kind!’

‘Looks like there’s a force field around it!’ Keith cried out in warning and Leo skidded to a halt in front of it just in time.

‘Anyone else feel like this thing is staring at them?’ Lance asked, but Pidge ignored him, taking in what she could see of the mechanical lion. It was a design unlike anything she had ever seen before, and definitely alien.

‘What do you think it can do?’ Leo wondered aloud. ‘Does it have lasers do you think? That would be so cool! I hope it has lasers.’

‘I wonder how we get through this.’ Keith gently probed the force field with his fingers.

‘Maybe we just have to knock?’ Lance suggested, rapping his knuckles against it. He leaped back as if shocked. The lion’s blank eyes flashed.

Images flooded Pidge’s mind; the mechanical lion flying through the air, joined by four others, a multicoloured robot wielding a flaming sword-

The flashes were gone as quickly as they came. The force field retreated, though the lion hadn't moved.

‘Uh, did everyone just see that?’

‘See what?’ Frank asked, coming up behind them.

‘Voltron is a robot!’ Hunk blurted. ‘Voltron is a huge, huuuge awesome robot!’

‘And this thing is only one part of it,’ Pidge added, turning to face the rest. Things were clicking into place in her mind, she could see the shape of comprehension forming even as she took in all of their confused faces. ‘I wonder where the rest of them are.’ 

‘I didn’t see anything,’ Leo complained. ‘I wanted to see a cool giant robot.’

‘This is what they’re looking for,’ Shiro said, coming back to the matter at hand.

The lion moved. It stood up and leaned down as if to devour them. It was even bigger up close and Pidge found herself cringing away from it reflexively. As it opened it’s mouth, Pidge’s mind became hyper aware that this thing was an  _ alien weapon _ and she braced herself for being incinerated or munched or whatever horrible thing this robot was capable of until-

The lion stopped, mouth open in wait. 

Lance smirked. ‘Come on, scaredy cats.’

‘Is this a good idea?’ Percy asked from the back. ‘I’m not sure this is a good idea.’

‘Come on, Percy!’ Leo called, bounding in after Lance. ‘Don’t be a wimp!’

‘I’m trying to be smart here!’ Percy protested.

‘ _ Said Percy Jackson _ ,’ Leo sniggered and disappeared down the lion’s throat.

'I resent that!' Percy called after him. Pidge shook her head at them both and climbed up the ramp.

Lance was sitting in what looked like a standard pilots chair, scanning the dashboard in front of him.

‘This is the coolest thing I’ve ever done,’ Leo announced as a view of the cave outside was projected into the space in front of them. He thought about that statement for a moment. ‘Okay, second coolest. Festus is still the coolest thing I’ve ever done.’

‘What’s a Festus?’ Pidge asked. 

‘Leo built a life-size mechanical dragon that can fly and also turn into a shiny gold suitcase,’ Jason explained, peering over Lance’s chair.

‘I’m sorry I asked.’

‘I still think this is a bad idea,’ Percy said, appearing behind them.

‘Hey, look!’ Leo pointed at a door Pidge hadn’t noticed. ‘I think this thing is a ship! It has a cargo hold and everything!’ Pidge went to investigate. Indeed, over Leo’s shoulder was another room, big enough to fit anything Pidge could reasonably think of, complete with hanging straps for passengers like you get on a bus.

‘Nope,’ said Percy. ‘I’m out. Uh uh. There is no way I am staying here. Nope.’

Lance pressed a button. Around them, the lion shuddered and roared. ‘Alright!’ Lance whooped. ‘Lets see what this thing can do!’

Percy screamed as Lance thrust forward with the controls, sending the thing careening into the cave wall.

* * *

Frank was thrown into the cargo hold by the force of gravity as the lion leaped into the air. Percy landed on top of him and he managed to scramble out of the way before Piper could also use him to break his fall. 

‘Everybody, hold on!’ Annabeth yelled, leaping for one of the straps attached to the ceiling and using it to find her feet. Out in the cockpit, Frank could hear Leo whooping with glee. Struggling to his feet as the mechanical lion continued to somersault around him, he gripped onto his own strap and caught Nico as he streaked past, plucking him from the air and holding him steady.

‘ _Attention, this is your captain_ _speaking,'_ Lance's smug face appeared on a viewscreen just above the hold door.  _'We are exiting Earth’s atmosphere. Who’s ready for a space adventure!_ ’ 

‘ _Lance_!’ Percy yelled, voice cracking, looking like he was about to throw up. ‘Let me off!’

Keith poked his head into view. ‘Can’t do that Percy, an alien spaceship just appeared and we have to take it out.’

Leo’s giddy face appeared on Keith’s left. ‘Guys, enemy starship just jumped out of hyperspace! This is real life Star Wars!’

‘ _ What? _ ’ Hazel shrieked.

‘I know!’ Leo cackled. ‘It’s  _ awesome! _ ’ 

‘You remember most of the ships in that movie  _ blow up _ , right?’ Percy shot back.

‘I am  _ trying _ to concentrate!’ Lance complained. ‘Talk to you later guys!’

The screen winked out of existence. 

‘I am going to  _ kill  _ him!’ Percy seethed.

'Leo or Lance?' Nico asked conversationally. He squirmed in Frank's arms.

‘Percy just calm down, man,’ Jason tried. 

‘You’re joking!’

Frank’s shoulder muscles screamed in protest as the lion jolted again.

‘Well it looks like the prophecy came true,’ Hazel remarked.

Nico wrestled free of Frank’s grip. ‘How?’ 

‘There are thirteen people on this ship,’ Annabeth pointed out.

‘“Beyond Olympus thirteen shall fly”?’ Hazel recited. ‘I think this counts!’ 

‘So there’s no getting out of this,’ Percy concluded. ‘Wonderful.’

At that moment, the Lance’s face reappeared. ‘Alien spaceship taken care of, Earth is safe. Should be smooth sailing from here on out.’

The lion seemed to stop moving. Frank carefully let go of his support and sat down. Percy collapsed into a relieved heap on the floor. They were out of danger for the time being. Jason, Piper, Nico and Hazel joined Frank, giving Percy and his fear of flying a wide berth. Annabeth could deal with him better on her own anyway. Gods know she's had the most practice. 

Now what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep an eye out for more of this series coming soon! As always, you can find me on tumblr at seethestarsalittlecloser.tumblr.com  
> Happy holidays!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know I said this was complete but I lied. Here's some great news! I am now collaborating with my friend Manmehak in writing this series so she wrote parts of this chapter! I'm so excited that this is now a collaborative effort and will be adding her as a co-author as soon as she gets an AO3 account. Please be nice though because this is her first writing adventure!  
> Anyway, on with the show! Enjoy this third and final chapter and stay tuned for more in this series!

Annabeth stumbled out of the blue lion and into bright sunlight. The air was clear, fresh and breathable, almost enough to convince her that she had never actually left earth and everything that had happened after she had gotten inside the blue lion had all been a practical joke. Frank and the others, all varying degrees paler than usual, were staggering out of the mouth of the lion after her. Percy looked decidedly seasick. Jason and the others that had been in the cockpit however appeared almost annoyingly steady. As she adjusted to the slightly heavier gravity and everyone else started muttering among themselves, Annabeth turned to in their surroundings.

They had landed on a courtyard laid out in front of the most magnificent building Annabeth had ever seen.

Clusters of white spires lanced high into the air in elegant lines, decorated with blue crystalline adornments that seemed to serve no purpose that Annabeth could decipher. It was undoubtedly a castle, the grand entrance surrounded by stately curves and pillars. It was architecture the likes of which Annabeth had never even dreamed of, and the mere possibility of this building’s existence took her breath away. She stared, drinking in the sight of this alien masterpiece and wondering at the skill it would have required to build something of such sophistication.

‘It's beautiful.’

‘Should I be jealous?’ Percy asked, coming up beside her. His voice drew her back to the reality of the situation and immediately, she reached out to him, remembering his freak out on the way to this place.

‘Gods, Percy. Are you okay?’

Percy looked slightly  green, though his lips were pressed hard against his teeth in silent fury.

‘I…..’ He managed to huff out. ‘ _ Never _ …’

‘I know.’ 

She held him in a soft embrace and he seemed to relax. He let out a breath and whispered, ‘I’ll be fine, Wise Girl. We’re together.’ His hand found hers then, their fingers intertwining with an aged ease. 

‘Together,’ she echoed.

‘We will be interrupting this viewing of Titanic to remind everyone that _we are standing in front of a giant alien castle_!’ bellowed Leo.

Right. Leave it to Percy to make her forget stunningly beautiful alien architecture.

‘Where are we?’ Frank wondered

‘It’s hard to say exactly  _ where _ ,’ Shiro said, transfixed on the castle with a contemplative intensity. ‘But I noticed the constellations while on our way here, and none of them were recognizable. So I’d say we’re  pretty far away from home.’

‘I don’t like this.’ Nico sounded grim and Annabeth couldn’t fault him on that. As amazing as this place was, the fact that they had apparently traveled to another planet asked far to many uncomfortable questions.

‘Relax, Nicholas,’ piped in Lance. ‘It’s not like the place is haunted or anything.’

‘That’s not even my name. And also, I would rather ghosts than aliens; I  _ am  _ the Ghost King.’ he said this as casually as if he were proclaiming his preference of music.

Lance smiled nervously and said, ‘Oh yeah? At the Garrison, they called me the Confidence King, which is why-’ he paused for effect, ‘I say we go right in.’

As if on cue, the blue lion got up and roared at the massive sealed front doors. They alighted blue along the seams, and opened with a deafening  _ thud _ , revealing a dark passageway beyond. Cautiously, Annabeth stepped through the doors into the castle. Inside, the air smelled damp. It was dark, but not so dark that she couldn’t faintly make out the shape of the walls some distance away. 

‘Hello?’ she felt herself shout, and the reverberating echo was enough to clarify that it was indeed a cavernous space they stood inside. A hangar bay perhaps? She was about to say as much but the castle was much faster. Above their heads, the roof lit up with the same fervid blue light, travelling along strange geometric patterns, only to crash down and envelope them in its gaze.

_ ‘Hold for identity scan,’  _ a mechanized voice commanded. She froze in place, and saw that others had followed suit.

‘What is going on?’ It was Piper. 

_ They were getting scanned _ . All along the walls, electric braziers flickered to life, revealing a sprawling staircase right in front of them, followed by another lit passage.

There was nothing to do but continue on. 

Wherever it was they stepped, the castle seemed to thrum to life; leading the group down lengthy corridors and up tall and winding staircases, until finally they stumbled into another massive chamber, supported by pillars adorned with the same crystalline substance she had noticed outside. The middle of the floor was split into multiple stations sprouting off from a central hub. 

‘A control station, of some kind,’ muttered Pidge.

‘But controlling what?’ Frank murmured. The chamber lit up as he spoke. From behind them, a strange mechanical hum came, and they turned to see what seemed like an oblong pod emerge from the source, followed by another one to their left. Through the opaque glass, Annabeth could just about make out a surprisingly humanoid silhouette in each pod.

‘Space mummies!’ Leo exclaimed. Why he sounded excited at the prospect was a mystery.

‘Except they are not dead,’ countered Hazel. 

‘And you can tell?’ asked Hunk, eyeing her a bit warily.

An iniquitous smile graced Hazel’s lips. ‘Usually,’ she said.

‘Well that's… convenient,’ Hunk muttered.

The pods drew the attention of the crew back to them, their casing dissolving into nothing, revealing two people inside.

The one directly in front had enraptured their attention as a whole, the inhabitant being a tall woman, graceful and lithe, in a resplendent gown. Her hair fell down her shoulders to her waist in exquisite, white waves- stark against her beautiful brown skin- though her face was exceedingly young. She seemed to have held them in a trance; a trance which broke with an abrupt jolt as she seemed to come to life with a gasp and fell. _ ‘ _

* * *

_ We can’t give up hope!’ Alfor had to listen to her, they had to fight! His face was broken and sad as he took here in his hands but he smiled down at her anyway. _

_ ‘I’m sorry daughter. If all goes well I will see you again soon.’ Energy sparked between his fingers and she was overcome with a wave of sleepiness. No! _

_ Fear, visceral and all-consuming threatened to choke her. He couldn't send her away! Not with the very epitome of evil camped on their doorstep! The universe needed them to fight!  _

_ ‘Father!’ she fought for consciousness, desperate to stay awake and by his side but her legs were giving out.  _

_ Alfor caught her and gazed down at her with a soft expression. ‘I love you.’ _

_ ‘Father...’ _

‘Father!’

Allura pitched forwards into a pair of arms, heart beating out of her chest. 

‘Woah there!’ the arms holding her upright exclaimed. She blinked away the familiar grogginess (a cryopod! He must have put her in a cryopod!) and looked up at the owner of the arms that had saved her from falling to the floor.

‘Who are you? Where am I?’ she asked as feeling began to return to her limbs and thoughts started flowing easier in her head.

‘I was hoping you could tell us.’ He almost looked Altean at first glance, enough to let her hope, but he was too pale and he had none of the markings she associated with her species except for the shock of white hair common in the region she was descended from. ‘My name is Shiro.’

‘Your ears,’ she blurted in surprise and stepped back as she spotted them, astonishingly small and square on each side of his head. Her strength had returned and with it her common sense. She was in the castle of lions cryochamber and the only people to be seen were this strange alien.

‘My what?’

Allura lunged to incapacitate him and he countered without missing a beat. Strong hands gripped her arms, but Allura was stronger and she flipped him over her shoulder, pinning him to the floor with her body weight and one arm over his throat. ‘Who are you?’ She demanded with a snarl, taking in the rest of the room. ‘Where is King Alfor? What are you doing in my castle?’ More aliens were gathered around the central console, their expressions each varying from battle-ready to shocked.

One of the strangers lunged at her, an odd coloured sword in hand. ‘Let him go!’ he spat.

‘Woah!’ gasped another, blue eyes widened in awe. ‘Percy, where the hell have you been hiding that thing?’

‘Percy, stand down,’ a tall fair haired boy ordered.

A golden haired girl stepped forwards slowly, hands up as if placating an animal. ‘We don't know where we are. We came here in a blue lion. That's all we know. Can you please let Shiro go?’

_ The blue lion?  _ Allura leapt to her feet. Sword Boy surged forward but the girl grabbed his arm before he could attack. ‘How do you have the Blue Lion?’ Allura demanded. ‘What happened to it's paladin? What are you all doing here?’ Something cold settled in her stomach as another thought entered her mind. ‘Unless...’ The instinct to fight drained out of her. Sword Boy hesitated for a moment but stood down. ‘How long has it been?’

The man who had caught her, Shiro, had returned to his feet. He shared a glance with another dark haired boy in a red jacket. ‘We don't know what you're talking about. Maybe if you told us who you were we could help?’

Allura squared her shoulders. She was heir to the the throne of Altea and she needed to act like it. ‘I am Princess Allura of planet Altea. I've got to find out where we are and how long we've been asleep.’ She rushed to the control panel with as much dignity as she could muster, activating it with a press of her hands. The smallest alien, barely more than a child, she realised, gasped in awe. ‘Okay, that's how that works.’

‘Awesome!’ Another small alien with curly hair grinned. ‘I know we just met but you gotta let me at this thing. Already I have so many ideas to take home. The innovations I could make! I could be the next Daedalus!’

‘Leo! Dude, chill out,’ another girl with dark hair and strange but pretty coloured eyes hissed.

The boy glanced at her over his shoulder eyes wide but unapologetic. ‘What? You can't expect me to see all of this and not want to take it apart!’ 

The two dissolved into bickering and Allura turned her attention to the screen. Information scrolled across the screen and that cold feeling in her stomach solidified into something heavy. 

‘Enemy combatants!’ Coran, her father’s advisor and closest friend, leaped out of a second cryopod and promptly fell right into one of the larger aliens with close-cropped dark hair.

‘Calm down! We’re not going to hurt you!’ the alien declared.

‘Unhand me you fiend!’ Coran squirmed. 

‘Not until you promise not to hurt us either,’ said Tall and Fair Boy.

Coran glared at them all from over the top of the alien’s arms. ‘You’re lucky I have a case of the old sleep chamber knees or else I’d-’

‘Can you be quiet?’ yet another alien snapped, this one short with a black jacket.

‘Why you-’ Coran spluttered. ‘The  _ audacity _ -’ 

‘Yes,  _ please _ continue,’ the boy’s face twisted into something resembling a grin, black eyes glittering. ‘I am a very long way from home and I am  _ dying _ to see if it makes a difference to what I can do in a fight.’ Allura felt the power in the room shift and immediately decided this little boy was not to be messed with.

Coran snapped his mouth shut. The alien holding him captive let him go with a stern glance at the boy. 

‘Di Angelo, relax, man,’ said Curly. 

When di Angelo stepped back and relaxed his stance enough for the tension in the room to subside, Allura turned back to the console and gasped. ‘It can’t be!’

‘What is it?’ asked Coran.

Allura read through the data again, the full reality of the situation hitting her like a punch to the gut. ‘We have been asleep for ten thousand years.’

* * *

There had been discernible tension in the room when everyone had gathered to see Hunk, Pidge, Lance and Shiro off for their missions. Keith's eyes had met Percy’s and looked away instantly; his mind cleaved between wanting to say  _ something _ but not knowing what or how. Annabeth had noticed. She was perceptive that way, but she would be no help. Not here, when he knew…..what, that he had been wrong? That he might’ve persuaded himself to stay had he not known with certainty that he didn’t have the words - still didn’t have the words - to provide comfort to anyone, let alone himself?  

It was with some effort that he kept himself standing still beside Princess Allura , nodding absentmindedly every now and then. They stood in a room surrounded by massive windows on three sides, overlooking the extraordinarily blue waters of Eris. From the roof right over the middle of the room jutted the same sizable crystal that seemed to form some odd part of the castle’s structure.  The demigods came in at times too, helping with one thing or another. Leo was aiding Coran in some of his repairs of the castle, while Annabeth and Frank were studying and understanding the holographic map of the extent of the Galran Empire from the Princess. She was telling them about Altea now; the planet she and Coran had once called home. 

‘It’s remarkable,’ said Annabeth, looking around in awe. ‘Your civilization built this technology 10,000 years ago. It must have been incredible.’

‘It was.’ A look of wistfulness overcame the Princess. ‘But it’s gone now. We’re the last Alteans alive.’ It was not sadness, but a strange determination that graced her features, as if that settled matters. The others were quiet for a moment. 

‘How long before the wormhole closes?’ asked Frank

‘An hour, perhaps,’ said Allura.

_ An hour.  _ ‘They should be back by now,’ Keith muttered.

‘It’s alright, Keith. The lions may not have been exactly easy to retrieve. I had anticipated this.’ Her expression changed then. ‘Are  _ you  _ alright?’

‘I’m fine. Thanks.’

‘It’s been quite a day,’ said Annabeth. ‘And you do look tired, Keith. Maybe you-’

‘Maybe we should be looking for the Red Lion.’ It came out a bit sharp. He took a breath. ‘I only meant-‘

‘Soon as Coran reports back with an update on the repair of the system, we can start again,’ the Princess assured them. 

They went back to talking about boundaries, planets subjugated and rebelling, alliances. 

He walked over to one of the windows and looked out at the visible landscape, so reminiscent of Earth’s and yet somehow so different. He wondered how far away they were from home.

That didn’t matter. He was needed here now, or else there would be no home to return back to. Besides, his home was with his brothers. With a pang he remembered their mother, Paul and Estelle. Closing his eyes he could see Sally as she had been during the months Percy had disappeared; sleepless and forlorn, putting on a brave face, day after day as no news had come, for the rest of them. Again, after Shiro had been declared dead; late night tears and quiet conversations with Paul that Keith, trapped by his own grief, was not made privvy to.

The room suddenly felt too hot. He needed to get out. Stalking out of the command deck, he found his way to the front doors, but stopped halfway. It didn’t matter if there was nothing to say. Keith found his steps retracing their way back inside the castle and his eyes looking for Percy.   

Keith found him and the rest of his friends gathered in what looked like a lounge area a few hallways over. Truthfully, Keith just wanted to be alone. After so many months with only the briefest of human contact, being surrounded by so many people was, conversely, the most overwhelming thing in the whole damn situation, but he owed Percy this.

The group were all sitting on couches, exchanging grim looks when Keith walked in. 

‘Anyone who wants to go home after this, won’t be judged harshly for it,’ Jason said quietly. ‘Between us, we’ve already given a lot to our home.’

‘Speak for yourself,’ Nico crossed his arms and frowned. ‘There’s a job to be done here. You really want to leave the protection of Earth to those five mortals?’ Keith clenched his fists at the words. He had thought he and Nico were friends. ‘I know your brothers are capable, Percy,’ Nico continued. ‘Hades, I helped you train Keith myself, but I am not leaving Earth in the hands of loverboy.’

‘Don’t you think you’re being a bit harsh, Nico?’ Hazel asked. 

‘All five of them made it into the Garrison,’ Jason added. ‘Those entry requirements are really tough, trust me. We could do a hell of a lot worse.’

Nico closed his mouth. Keith cleared his throat and the group looked up. ‘Keith!’ Piper exclaimed.

‘Percy, can we talk?’ Keith asked, ignoring the rest of the group entirely. 

‘Sure, man,’ Percy stood up, and joined him at the door. They walked down the corridor in silence, moving into an empty room at random. ‘What’s up?’ Percy asked once the door closed behind him. ‘You okay?’

Keith nodded. ‘Yeah, I just... It's been a long day already and we never really got to talk after last night and-’

‘Mom’s okay, thanks for asking,’ Percy blurted and Keith’s cheeks coloured. Percy had the presence of mind to look sorry for the outburst, but he kept talking. ‘I mean, between the three of us, we’ve put her through a lot. You’d think she would get used to her sons disappearing on her.’

Percy’s words rankled and Keith suddenly found himself fighting to keep his temper under control. ‘That’s not fair, Percy! It was different when you disappeared!’

‘Yes it was!’ Percy snapped, matching his tone. ‘I didn’t do it on purpose!’ Keith tried to reply, but the words stuck in his throat. Percy started pacing. ‘Don’t you understand? We were told that Shiro  _ died _ , Keith! Shiro! Trust me, I get wanting to run away, but he is my brother too, Keith! He is my brother just as much as yours!’

Keith searched for some argument to defend himself. ‘He’s not your blood!’

‘Like that makes a difference!’ Percy countered and Keith nearly flinched at the feeling in his voice. ‘Like that makes any damn difference! We are a family, Keith! We were supposed to get through this together! You and me, mom and Paul, Estelle, who barely remembers you exist because you’ve been gone for most of her life! Shiro and I were taken against our will, but you  _ left _ ! How could you do that? It was like as soon as Shiro was out of the picture, you had nothing tying you to our family anymore-’ Percy’s tirade was cut short as he choked on tears. They stood there in silence as Percy tried to control himself, shoulders shaking, glaring angrily at the floor. 

Keith was left speechless. ‘I... I’m sorry, Percy,’ he whispered, horrified. He had never even considered what it might look like to his family if he left. He had just been desperate to do  _ something _ . Shiro had been taken and he had wanted to fight, to destroy who or whatever had taken his big brother away from him but there had been nothing to hurt. Nothing to fight. So Keith had fled. He hadn’t even thought of the big brother or the mother he was leaving behind. ‘I should have stayed.’

‘But you didn’t.’

Lost, Keith took a tiny step closer, raising his hand to... he didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. Percy eyed it warily, gaze taking in the skinned knuckles not hidden by the fingerless gloves, leftover scabs from Shiro’s rescue. ‘I’m sorry, Percy,’ Keith tried again. ‘I didn’t leave because I don’t consider you family. You will always be my brother.’ 

‘I missed you,’ Percy admitted in a small voice. ‘I missed you and Shiro so much.’

Keith lowered his hand but attempted a tiny smile. ‘I missed you both too.’

In one swift movement, Percy lunged at Keith, wrapping his arms tightly around Keith’s shoulders and clinging to him tightly. ‘I’m glad you’re back,’ Percy huffed into his neck. ‘Home just wasn’t the same without you.’ 

Keith hugged him back with equal ferocity, bunching the orange fabric of Percy’s shirt in his fists as he let out the tears that had been locked away since they got the news. Percy had always been so much better at emotions than him, Keith struggled to express his feelings in the same way. ‘I can’t go home yet,’ Keith murmured after a moment. 

Percy pulled away and nodded. ‘I know.’

‘Good.’ He hesitated and finally stepped out of Percy’s embrace. ‘You know Shiro and I could handle this is you wanted to go home. You demigods aren't the only ones who can fight this alien empire.’

‘No, absolutely not. I’m not leaving either of my brothers behind again. I can't go home knowing you and Shiro are out there putting yourselves in danger and I can't go home knowing that it could be invaded at any minute. I'm staying here and I'm helping you and this Princess in any way I can.’

‘But...’ Keith frowned. ‘Ever since you found out about Poseidon being your dad, you've wanted a normal life. You were going to college with Annabeth.’

‘Keith you may have been in that desert for a while but I am still me. I would give it all up in a heartbeat if I thought I needed to. Besides,’ Percy smirked ruefully. ‘You think Annabeth's ever leaving this place? I'm gonna have to drag her back to Earth kicking and screaming at this rate. Zarkon and his Empire aside, this is practically nerd heaven.’

Keith laughed, but it was subdued and awkward, barely more than a breath of amused air. 

Percy looked at him, sea green eyes serious. ‘Just promise me one thing, Keith?’

‘Of course.’

‘Promise me we all get to go home, okay? I know this is important, but at least for mom’s sake, you need to make it home alive.’

‘I will if you do it first,’ Keith replied, hailing back to simpler days before demigods and missing brothers. It didn’t quite feel like a promise, but Percy knew him well enough to know what it meant.  _ I’ll try _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you next episode!
> 
> In the meantime, check out my tumblr ( seethestarsalittlecloser.tumblr.com ) for more fangirling. My ask box and PM are always open for anyone who wants to scream with me!

**Author's Note:**

> Stay tuned for Chapter 2 coming soon!


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